The Taste Of Africa Street Party, which is currently being held daily at Disney's Animal Kingdom from immediately after Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade until park closing, brings life to Harambe Village and shouldn't be missed.

Beer & Wine Walk
In addition to the great foods there are to taste, the Beer & Wine Walk provides the opportunity to sample some of the Wines of South Africa and Beers from all over Africa. This again attempts to mimic the success of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival and make a similar experience for guests on a much more focused scale.

There are two types of "Tastings" that can be done: the Young Travelers Tropical Fruit Juice Tasting for $4 or the Beer & Wine Walk for $9 per person. Each allows the guest to try 4 different samples.

Tropical Fruit Juice Tasting
This was a nice feature added to make the event family friendly and to give the kids their own opportunity for "Tasting" while the adults sampled the Beers and/or Wines.

Each guest who participated in the Juice Tasting received 4 different juices to sample. The cast member, Taylor on the day we were there, offered them each one at a time, explaining what it was and asked feedback as to whether they did or did not enjoy that particular selection.

The four juices were:

Guava

Sugar Cane

Coconut Water

Sour Sop

The fruits were on display, as well, so you could really understand what went into each of these juices. The Sour Sop was unanimously chosen as the best. The fruit itself looked rather unattractive, but the juice was tasty and not sour as the fruit name might indicate.

All in all this was a fun activity for the kids, who really enjoyed the experience. It was presented well, and would be recommended for kids or even adults who prefer non-alcoholic beverages.

Beer & Wine Tasting
For the Beer & Wine Tasting, each participant was given a passport that had an area to receive 4 different stamps. This indicated how many "Tastings" you had remaining.

With this Passport, you had your choice to visit any of the 3 Wine Stations or the 1 Beer Station. You could visit the same station all 4 times, or mix and match as you desired.

The wine stations each represented a Wine making region of South Africa. The first was the Paarl region. Here you had a choice of 4 different wines ranging from white to red. Chenin Blanc grapes are the most common in this area as almost 25% of the vineyards are devoted to this varietal.

The Cast Members were very helpful and willing to dicuss the wines at their station in order to help you choose one that fit your particular tastes.

The wines presented here were:

Fairview Viognier

Fairview Pinotage

Goats Do Roam White Blend

Glen Carlou Classique

The next region was the Stellenbosch region. This area is known for being home to many wine related research and teaching institutions besides just producing wine. 60% of the grapes in the Stellenbosch area are red with Carbernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, and Pinotage being the most popular.

The wines offered here are:

Man Vintners Pinotage

Neil Ellis Sincerely Sauvignon Blanc

Man Vintners Shiraz

Neil Ellis Chardonnay

The last wine station represented the Cape Town Region of South Africa. Cape Town represents South Africa's oldest European settlement and is dominated by the 3,500 ft flat topped Table Mountain. The featured wines here are:

Sebeka Sauvignon Blanc

Porcupine Ridge Merlot

Red Wolftrap Blend

Man Vintners Chenin Blanc.

The beer station offered 4 beer choices made in Africa. Unlike the wines which were all from South Africa, the beers represented the entire continent of Africa. There were two beers from Ethiopia, one from Kenya, and the last was from Morocco.

The beers that were available for tasting were:

St. George Pale Lager, Ethiopia

Bedele Pilsner, Ethiopia

Tusker Lager, Kenya

Casa Lager, Morocco

Taste Of Africa Street Party
In conclusion, I strongly recommend the Taste Of Africa Street Party At Disney's Animal Kingdom. the folks at Disney World have come up with a great idea here and I hope it is allowed to remain for an extended stay or at least appear on a regular basis.

It was a welcome change, and all who took part appeared to be enjoying the food and all that the Taste Of Africa Street Party had to offer. Definitely look for it if you are visiting Disney World in the near future.